Electrical devices, such as amplifiers, transmitters, and receivers, typically include one or more printed circuit boards on which a plurality of electronic components are mounted. Electronic components that are intended to remain in a device for its useful life are usually permanently mounted, such as by soldering the components to pads formed on a printed circuit board. Electronic components that may need to be removed from the device can also be soldered to pads of the printed circuit board. However, removal of the component then requires the use of a soldering iron, which can present difficulties for field removal of the component, especially when the device is located far from a power source for powering the soldering iron.
Removable components can instead be mounted to the printed circuit in other ways, such as by inserting leads of a plug-in component into a connector that is permanently mounted to a printed circuit board. In this manner, the component can be easily removed from the connector and replaced with a similar component or a different component. In an amplifier, for example, a fuse shunt can be plugged into a connector to provide a short circuit to conduct power to the amplifier during normal operation. When the amplifier is to be repaired, the fuse shunt is removed altogether so that power is interrupted, thereby reducing the risk of electrical shock. Other types of electrical devices use plug-in resistors or capacitors, and, when the value of such a plug-in component is to be changed, the component is removed and replaced with a separate plug-in component having the desired value.
In either situation, the plug-in component that is removed can be easily lost, which can cause device malfunctions and which can require that a replacement component be ordered, thereby wasting time and money. Also, replacement of plug-in components can require that a technician carry a number of components while servicing devices in the field, which can be inconvenient and sometimes impractical.